LOCAL SPORTS
The lineups are set for the semi-finals at the Bill Chisholm Memorial U13AAA Tournament. Action begins with Cape Breton West vs the Antigonish Bulldogs at 9 am, followed by the Valley Jets vs the Pictou Crushers at 10:30. Winners will face off in the final at 2:30. All games are being played at the Antigonish Arena.
U18 Major: The Weeks Majors trounced the CB West Islanders 9-2 in Port Hood. The teams meet again at the Wellness Centre today at 1.
It’s a rare opportunity to see Q-League hockey locally: the Halifax Mooseheads are holding a practice session at the Antigonish Arena between 1 and 2:30 this afternoon. The session is open to the public, and admission is free.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Alex Ovechkin’s chase for Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record is back on. Ovechkin scored an empty-net goal in his first game since fracturing his left leg in early November. His Washington Capitals beat the host Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Ovechkin is 25 goals back of Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals with 46 games to go in the regular season.
An epic collapse by the Vancouver Canucks. They were up 4-1 on the Seattle Kraken with five minutes to go when the Kraken scored three unanswered goals and then won 5-4 in overtime. It was only the third time in N-H-L history that a team won after a three-goal deficit with five minutes to play.
Nikolaj Ehlers is back on track for the Winnipeg Jets after a long layoff with injury. His goal and two assists were key in Winnipeg’s 4-2 win over the visiting Ottawa Senators. Ehlers missed nine games earlier this month with a lower-body injury. The Danish forward has two goals and three assists in four games since his return.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice, including an empty-net goal, and goalie Dustin Wolf made 21 saves for the Calgary Flames in a 3-1 win over the host San Jose Sharks. Nazem Kadri had a pair of assists for the Flames who resumed their regular season after the holiday break. Calgary has won two in a row and has earned at least one point from each of its last five games.
The Los Angeles Rams barely maintained command of the N-F-C West race in the N-F-L with a 13-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Rams cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon made a diving interception with 37 seconds to play. Kyren Williams scored the only touchdown for the Rams, who ground through a difficult offensive night and survived a hair-raising fourth quarter for their fifth consecutive victory.
The Canadian Press team of the year is the men’s four-by-100-relay squad that sprinted to unexpected gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Andre De Grasse, Brendon Rodney, Jerome Blake and Aaron Brown all overcame disappointing individual results earlier in the Olympics before coming together to win relay gold. The sprinters earned 37 of the 53 votes cast by sports editors, producers and reporters across Canada. Rachel Homan’s curling squad finished second with seven votes.
Saturday’s Results
World Junior Hockey Championship – Preliminary Round
Czechia 14 Kazakhstan 2
United States 5 Latvia 1
Spengler Cup at Davos, Switzerland
Oulu 2 Pardubice 1 (OT)
Canada 6 Straubing 3
NHL
Montreal 4 Florida 0
Los Angeles 4 Edmonton 3 (OT)
Seattle 5 Vancouver 4 (OT)
Winnipeg 4 Ottawa 2
Washington 5 Toronto 2
Calgary 3 San Jose 1
Philadelphia 3 Anaheim 1
Boston 4 Columbus 0
Tampa Bay 6 N.Y. Rangers 2
Carolina 5 New Jersey 2
N.Y. Islanders 6 Pittsburgh 3
PWHL
Montreal 3 Minnesota 2
NFL
L.A. Chargers 40 New England 7
Cincinnati 30 Denver 24 (OT)
L.A. Rams 13 Arizona 9
NBA
Atlanta 120 Miami 110
Oklahoma City 106 Charlotte 94
New York 136 Washington 132 (OT)
Chicago 116 Milwaukee 111
Golden State 109 Phoenix 105
Denver 134 Detroit 121
Philadelphia 114 Utah 111
Portland 126 Dallas 122
L.A. Lakers 132 Sacramento 122
Sunday’s Schedule (All times Eastern)
World Junior Hockey Championship – Preliminary Round
Sweden vs. Switzerland, 12 p.m.
Finland vs. United States, 2:30 p.m.
Slovakia vs. Czechia, 5 p.m.
Germany vs. Canada, 7:30 p.m.
Spengler Cup at Davos, Switzerland – Quarterfinals
Pardubice vs. Third Cattini, 9:10 a.m.
Oulu vs. Second Cattini, 2:15 p.m.
NHL
Buffalo at St. Louis, 3 p.m.
Edmonton at Anaheim, 4 p.m.
Montreal at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
Washington at Detroit, 5 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m.
Calgary at Vegas, 8 p.m.
Ottawa at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Los Angeles, 9 p.m.
PWHL
Ottawa at New York, 1 p.m.
NFL
Carolina at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.
Las Vegas at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Tennessee at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Miami at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m.
Green Bay at Minnesota, 4:25 p.m.
Atlanta at Washington, 8:20 p.m.
NBA
Brooklyn at Orlando, 3:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Toronto, 6 p.m.
Indiana at Boston, 6 p.m.
Memphis at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Miami at Houston, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at Minnesota, 8 p.m.